Thoughts on learning and teaching

Day: December 18, 2016

I’ve not written a celebration post in a few weeks.
Done other things.
I’m not beating myself up about it,
just realizing —
celebrating weekly is a practice
that honors the good and needs to be done.
When we meet dark days,
points of light are essential.
The practice of celebration is a one way to find shimmers of hope.

The tree outside my classroom has been shedding red five-point leaves. They fall and land on the walkway. This week two separate times, two different girls rescued a perfect red leaf and gave it to me as we walked to lunch. The first I put on my desk. It dried and folded. When I touched it, it crumbled. The second I preserve here. This week I celebrate the small gifts that touch our hearts.

Every year out school celebrates winter holidays with a concert. When I got to school on Thursday, the line for the 8:20 performance wound down the street. Every performance (there were four) was packed with parents, grandparents, siblings and recording devices. No one left early. Kids sang their hearts out. Played guitars. Shook shakers. Danced. Teachers guided. Prompted. And we all smiled. Students were beautiful. This week I celebrate the joy in song and the love it brings out in us all.

On Friday, Trevor* handed me a card and said, “There was a white envelope that went with this. There was a Barnes and Noble gift card. It was for you, but I can’t find it. If you find it, it’s from me. I thought maybe because you like books, you might buy one for yourself. Or one you could read to the class.” I told him I’m sure it will turn up. This week I celebrate that my students know I love books and they want to be read to.

My students and I spent our last day of 2016 together shopping for books. I handed them new book baggies with glittery pens. Each went off and found three. One for each week. A little bit of the classroom to take with them. This week I celebrate the gift of books.

At the end of November, the brilliant Mary Lee Hahn started a daily haiku challenge. A haiku a day for healing. This week I celebrate the power of these small doses of poetry and all who share this daily meditation. Find your daily dose on Twitter at #haikuforhealing.

haiku harmony
powerful packages pull
at our heart — mind — soul

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